Release Date: 17/06/2008
A stunning show from the boys and girls hockey teams capped a strong performance at a London Youth Games eliminator at the weekend.
The squad, led by Richmond Council’s Sports Development Team, competed in six events at Redbridge Sports Centre on Saturday and Sunday. The girls hockey team won five matches in a row while the boys claimed six wins and a draw from their seven matches to both qualify for next month’s finals.
This year’s games, sponsored by Balfour Beatty, will see 20,000 competitors from all 33 London boroughs go head-to-head in over 30 different sports. The finals take place at Crystal Palace on 5-6 July.
In other events, the trampolining team finished in a respectable tenth place, the boys squash team came in fifth during the morning session and the table tennis team performed well but missed out on qualifying for the finals.
Despite an excellent performance from Charlotte Pearce, 14, of St Catherine’s School in Twickenham, who won all of her matches, the tennis team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the finals.
Cllr Liz Jaeger, Cabinet Member for Youth, Culture and Leisure on Richmond Council, said:
”Congratulations to the teams on superb performances at the weekend.
“Through initiatives such as Competitive Edge, more of the borough’s young people are taking part in competitive sport every year, and frequently at a very high standard.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners, schools and sports clubs to boost participation. It’s good for the health and fitness of our young residents and sport is proven to boost confidence, self-esteem and the ability to work as part of a team.
“I wish all of our athletes the best of luck at the London Youth Games next month and look forward to seeing our teams in action.”